For the past few months, I have been obsessed with the idea of trying a bunch of restaurants from the Charlotte Magazine 25 Best Restaurant List. Since I know that I am going to be traveling for work a lot this year, I decided that Matt & I should commit to eating at five of these restaurants throughout the course of 2014. And then, once Charlotte Magazine publishes the new list in December, we can spend 2015 visiting the restaurants on the new list. Sounds like a great plan, right?

The first restaurant I decided to try from the list was Halcyon- Flavors from the Earth. It's located in Uptown inside the Mint Museum. It would be super fun to visit in the warmer weather, they had a nice balcony outside with tables. When Matt & I visited last Saturday the weather was decent, but not quite warm enough for outdoor dining.

Happy Saturday! I have a fantastic weekend ahead of me- my family is here to visit. I miss Sadie so much. And my husband too of course. :)

The great news is that after living apart for 5 months, Sadie and Matt will finally be joining me here in Charlotte in early March. Yes!! Since I am here by myself, and don't have most of my furniture or my family here yet, I sometimes get the sense that I am just here temporarily, and there will be a time when I need to go back to Pennsylvania. I know, it doesn't make sense, but I think it still seems surreal to me that I am actually living in the city that I love.

The other thing that seems surreal is how mild the winter has been! SO much better than the PA winters. I spent a few days in Detroit for work this week, and realized how much I don't miss the months of frigid cold. But check out my rental car I had in Detroit you guys- it was super awesome. I remember as a teenager thinking how cool it would be to have a Mustang, and 15 years later I finally get to drive one, haha.

Confession: I have not been doing what I always talk about on this blog- planning meals and being prepared. I have found myself "grabbing" lunch or dinner in way too many situations. Living alone and cooking meals for myself has not gone as well as I had hoped. This weekend, my parents were here in Charlotte to visit, and unfortunately my fridge was in its usual state of emptiness.

My strategy, as always, was to to make the healthiest choices possible, but still including wiggle room to have a few treats. On Friday night, we enjoyed a casual dinner at Jason's Deli. I ordered half a Zucchini Grillini sandwich, which is a yummy combo of veggies, cheese, & hummus. On the side, I had a cup of Southwest Chicken Chili, and some fruit.

Hello friends! Everyone knows I love the beach, and I found out that I can still enjoy the beach even when it is freezing cold out. I spent the weekend with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and their dog Skittles; my parents are renting a house at Tybee Island, GA, and asked us to join them for the weekend. I was glad to see everyone, but I was not glad that it was a high of about 45 degrees on Saturday. I swear the cold weather follows me around. I know- my friends up north probably think I'm crazy for complaining about 45 degrees in January- but it's the beach you guys! In Georgia! Shouldn't it be warmer?

Despite the deep freeze in the south, I still managed to get some outdoor exercise over the weekend. I bundled up and went on a couple walks, and then I rode my mom's rented bike around town. I loved the bike rides- I can't wait until the day comes that I'm not living in a tiny apartment with zero storage space so I can get a bike of my own.

On the healthy eating front- I think I got a grade of about a C when it came to meal choices. The great thing about staying in rental houses on vacation is that it's easy to pack healthy breakfast choices. Oatmeal + banana + peanut butter + honey= my usual microwave banana oatmeal. Delicious as always.

Happy Saturday! I spent my week visiting Portland, Oregon for work. I was tied up during the day with meetings, but in the evening I had time to unwind and hit the town a bit. I wish that I was visiting at a different time of year, by the time I was done with my workday it was dark out and I couldn't see the sights of the city as much as I would have liked. Bleh. I did still manage to try some really delicious restaurants though!

As always, I tried to have a good balance of "healthy" and "yummy." Full disclosure: I didn't photograph every meal I ate of course. When I don't photograph my food it's usually because I'm eating with colleagues, and it seems super awkward to break out my cell phone and photograph food during a business meal. Any other bloggers have this problem?

As usual, a trip begins with some sort of meal at the airport. During my layover in Dallas, I ate a Thai Peanut Chicken wrap from Au Bon Pain. It was pretty good, not amazing, but just fine for airport food. And the good news about Au Bon Pain is that they post the calorie count directly on the menu, so it was easy to make a wise choice. I would definitely hit up Au Bon Pain at an airport again.

This week has FLOWN by. Has it for anyone else? This is the first time in 10 years that I have had a winter "break;" my new employer has an awesome holiday policy and I've had a vacation from Christmas to New Year. A few days ago I wrote that during my break I have been eating a ton of yummy food, but it hasn't been the healthiest. Ugh.

How was everyone's holiday? Sadie wishes everyone a Merry Christmas! My holiday card didn't turn out as great as I had hoped- Matt and I procrastinated taking a holiday photo so we just stuck a blurry picture of Sadie on our card. Bleh! It's the thought that counts, right?

I have been eating a TON of good food over the past few days, which has not been so great for my waistline. Like many other people, the holidays are always a huge struggle for me when it comes to staying on track with healthy eating. Exhibit A: refrigerated Pillsbury peppermint cookie dough. The good thing about buying this store-bought refrigerated dough is that you can just keep the dough on hand, and only bake however many cookies you want during one sitting. So, I typically make only 2 cookies for each person.

I love Sunday afternoons. A lot of the weekend chores are already done, the workweek is still a day away, and it is not only appropriate- but even encouraged- to have an adult beverage in the middle of the day.

After a coworker told me about Queen City Q, I knew that Matt & I needed to go. BBQ in Uptown Charlotte? Yes, please! The restaurant didn't disappoint, we ended up having a really yummy Sunday brunch there, although the only brunch food that was ordered was a Bloody Mary. They are $5 on Sundays! You guys know I'm always up for a good Bloody Mary.

I don't go out to breakfast often- my regular readers know that I like eating waffles, peanut butter, & banana at home. However, when I returned from my trip to Germany I had no food in the house- not even coffee! So a nice, big breakfast was definitely needed.

At first I got confused about this place, is it an IHOP? The answer is no- it's a chain here in Charlotte- I visited the Southpark location. Usually, Matt & I are up super early and ready to eat breakfast at 7 am, but on this particular occasion, jet lag got the best of me and we didn't get to the restaurant until about 9:00 am. I know- who am I? We were able to get seated right away, but when we were leaving the place was slammed.

About Kelly

Blogging from Charlotte, NC. I am a wife, beagle owner, and have a full time day job, I love cooking (and eating!), yoga, hiking, reading, and traveling. Follow along on my adventures as I try to balance having fun with leading a healthy lifestyle.